Corporations and other enterprises that use automated billing systems to send bills to their clients might have a need to discontinue the use of one billing system and begin use of another billing system. The conversion from a legacy billing system to a new billing system can be a complicated process. For example, conversion from the legacy system to the new system may require that customer billing data be converted from the format of the legacy system into the format of the new system.
The conversion of customer data from one billing system to another has traditionally been done through a batch process in which several million conversions might be done in a relatively short period of time. A batch conversion of this size can require as many as 30 to 40 hours to complete. Access to the data stores holding the customer data is typically denied during the conversion process so that the data does not change during the process. If a customer requests access to billing data during the outage, it might not be possible to fulfill the request. Outages of this size are typically scheduled for weekends and other non-standard work hours to minimize their impact. This can require that in-house information technology personnel work overtime or that temporary personnel be hired. The support of outside contractors experienced in batch conversion processes may also be needed, creating an additional expense.